Grandpa loves you
by SmoothFluffle
Summary: "Grandpa Hopper is going to make sure nothing bad happens to you. Everything will be okay. You're so loved, baby." He smiled as the baby took his fingers in her little fist and made a gurgling sound. He laughed and pressed a kiss to her tiny forehead. "Grandpa loves you." (Now turned into a one-shot series).
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Wow, what is happening? Why am I writing so much? Where is this inspiration coming from?**

 **I wanted a fluffy family fic. It began Hopper centered, but then Karen Wheeler had feelings and then everyone else did, too.**

 **Also, I just realized that Jonathan, Steve, Holly and Ted (he's mentioned, but it doesn't really count) are not in this story. Woops lol.**

 **Let me know what you think, if you liked it and if you want another fic like this.**

 **Reviews are lovely!**

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Hushed voices rang through the first floor of the house, as everyone tried to accommodate and put everything in place for the new arrival.

Sitting on a comfortable armchair, Hopper watched as Karen and Nancy Wheeler moved around in the kitchen to prepare drinks for everyone in the house.

Upstairs he could hear Joyce fluffing pillows in the master bedroom, where she had disappeared a few minutes ago.

Anxiousness fluttered inside his chest, and his fingers twitched with the need for a cigarette, but instead they settled for tapping a rhythm against the cushion on his lap. Besides, that damn kid had made him quit a few years ago.

An engine was heard on the driveway, a car door opened, and then all sounds died.

He saw Karen freeze in the kitchen and Nancy approached the living room where he was sitting, giving them a wide open look at the front door. Joyce stepped out of the room upstairs and stopped in the middle of the staircase, hand clutching the bannister as they all waited for the front door to open.

A few murmurs were heard and then the wooden door made a creaking sound as it opened.

A dark hand pushed the door to stay flat against the wall, and then Lucas appeared, shooting a quick smile at everyone, while stepping into the house and pressing his hand against the door to prevent it from hitting the couple coming in.

Hopper sat up straighter as he saw his adoptive daughter being led inside the house by Mike.

Baby blue summer dress swaying around her knees, El was taking careful and slow steps as she clutched the hand Mike had in front of her, while his other arm was busy supporting her weight against his body.

Her hair was loose, honey-brown strands flying with the light breeze, and her brow furrowed as a strand tickled her nose.

Her eyes danced around the people in her house and finally settled on Hopper, giving him a tired smile.

As the couple finally stepped inside the house, Will holding a few bags behind them, Hopper's eyes landed on the pink bundle in Dustin's arms.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and he heard Karen fussing to El, but his eyes stayed where the tiny person who everyone came to see was.

Dustin entered the house and smiled toothily at everyone while Max, the last member of the party, closed the door behind him.

Joyce came downstairs and kissed her adoptive daughter on the forehead while talking in hushed tones to her and Mike. Then, she went to Dustin and cooed at the covered baby in his arms.

"Hey, kiddo. How are you feeling?" Hopper greeted El as she sat down on the couch in front of him with a big sigh of relief.

She gave him a smile as Mike rubbed her shoulders from behind the couch, shooting him a quick smile. "Tired."

"I bet." He chuckled. "You just delivered a baby into the world." He said affectionately as he watched her eyes shut tiredly, head resting against Mike's torso as he waved his fingers into her hair.

"Speaking of..." started Mike as they watched Dustin come into the living room area, and stand in front of El.

"Delivery for Mrs. El Wheeler. Package has safely arrived to its destiny." He said with a smile as he carefully deposited the baby in her arms.

El gave him an appreciative smile, while Mike carefully inspected the baby in his wife's arms.

Hopper hadn't seen the baby yet, but he knew since early morning that his daughter had delivered a healthy baby girl at 8:30 in the morning. He watched as El's eyes roamed inside the pink blanket. A slow smile appeared on his face as his chest swelled with pride. "I'm a grandpa."

El chuckled at him as everyone laughed and came closer. She looked at him with an endearing smile, before motioning at him with her full arms. "Are you going to hold her?"

Joyce stood behind him and he heard her take in an excited breath, as Mike took the baby from his wife.

"Hey, little girl. Ready to meet Grandpa Hopper? He seems a little tough, but he's not so bad." He spoke in soft tones to his daughter as everyone chuckled at his words. Mike gave him a teasing smile as he stood in front of him.

He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead as Hopper stretched his arms, accommodating them to receive the baby. Everyone held their breath as they watched him take the baby from Mike, and pull her closer to his chest.

It had been a while since he held a baby, last time being his own, but the weight and warmth she radiated were welcomed.

El bit her lip at the warmth in her chest, sharing a loving smile with Mike. He sat down beside her, threw an arm around her and pulled her close, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

Karen took her clasped hands to her mouth, as she nostalgically watched her son, her only baby boy, whisper loving words into his wife's ear. She couldn't believe he was so grown up, bringing his first child home; it seemed like only yesterday she was the one arriving from the hospital while she welcomed him into the world. Tears couldn't be held at the emotions she was feeling, and her heart thumped in her chest when her eyes met her son's and they shared a smile.

Max hugged her boyfriend from behind, squeezing her arms around his middle as she watched her friends be happy. _Time really does fly_ , she thought as memories of a punk El and a crying Mike swarmed her mind.

Dustin squeezed her hands and took her fingers between his, as his eyes met Will's and Lucas's and they all shared a happy grin. When Mike asked him to hold his newborn daughter, Dustin had to take a moment; even though he knew Mike (and everyone, really) trusted him, putting his child's life in his arms, trusting him to keep her safe until they arrived home, was a huge thing in his eyes. Moisture had clouded his baby blues as he had taken the sleeping baby from his first female friend, sharing a secret smile with El.

But none of that mattered to Hopper, as he locked eyes with the baby girl in his arms. He fell himself fall in love once again, wondering how amazing was life, how **great** it was to give him a new beginning. Moisture pooled in his eyes as he carefully examined the baby and touched her soft cheek with a gentle finger.

"Oh, Hop." Joyce said with a chocked sigh as a few tears slipped from her eyes.

Looking up at her, he watched with a smile as she laughed and apologized for her tears, as she gathered them with her fingers. Everyone breathed again as they watched a captivated Hopper pull the baby closer. He chuckled and locked eyes with El. "You did good, kid. She's beautiful."

El gave him a breathy chuckle as Mike piped up beside her. "Hey, I helped, too."

"But you're not as pretty as her. Good thing the baby looks like her, or else she would be doomed with your ugly face." Nancy exclaimed teasingly at her brother, receiving a shove from her mother in reprimand and booming laughter from the other " _kids_ " in the room. _But they're not really kids anymore, are they_? She thought as she looked at the grown up kids she loved. Emotion swelled in her throat and she pulled Mike's head to her. "I'm so proud of you." She whispered in his ear and pressed a loving kiss to his hair. He gave her a weirded out face, which dissolved into a grin, and he patted her cheek with gentle fingers.

"Hello. Look at you! You're finally out in the world. Tired little thing you are too, aren't you?" Hopper cooed at the baby as she let out a big yawn, her little face squished out into a frown. "We waited so long to meet you. You must be weirded out with so many new faces. It's such a big world, isn't it? Yes it is. Yes it is." He continued as he rubbed a finger to her chin, and the baby cooed back with big eyes as she took in the new person who was making such funny noises at her.

"I'm gonna take her home with me." Hopper said teasingly at El and Mike.

"Dad." El laughed with everyone else.

Later, when everyone was busy drinking from the fresh lemonade Karen had made, and the baby was still safely tucked in Hopper's embrace, El's eyes were fighting to stay open as sleep called to her.

"Let me take you upstairs, okay?" Mike said encouragingly, sitting up.

"I don't want to leave her." She mumbled in protest, but still let him pull her up.

"You gotta rest. You haven't slept in like 12 hours." Mike said as he carefully moved her towards the stairs.

Will moved to take her other arm and help his sister up the steps while Joyce jumped in and ran up the stairs in front of them, to help her daughter settle down in her room.

Hopper watched with a smile as everyone fussed and moved around, trying to make things easier for the new mom. He was so proud of her; still remembering the little girl with a shaved head who knew nothing about friends or compromise. She had come so far.

His eyes settled on the dancing eyes of his granddaughter, who was taking up the different shapes of the room.

"You're going to be so loved, baby. So loved. You already are. You have so many uncles and aunts who love you so much. And two great grandmas. You have another grandpa too but he's kind of an idiot. Don't tell anyone I said that. But most importantly, you have me. Grandpa Hopper is going to make sure nothing bad happens to you. Everything will be okay. You're so loved, baby." He smiled as the baby took his fingers in her little fist and made a gurgling sound. He laughed and pressed a kiss to her tiny forehead. "Grandpa loves you."


	2. Gradpa Hopper, babysitter

**AN: So, I know you guys really liked Grandpa loves you, so I've decided to make this into a kind-of series where Hopper is a great Grandpa and he takes care of his granddaughter. I'll update this sporadically, when inspiration for this hits me.**

 **Aimee (Ah-ee-meh): of French origin, means "beloved".**

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Hopper watched as the one year old little girl stopped her tummy time on the carpet, inspected something in her hand and promptly put it in her mouth.

"No! What's that?" He called to her as he walked over and pulled her up by her underarms.

The little girl giggled as her Grandpa gently lifted her top lip and stuck his thumb in her mouth, swirling the digit around and dragging the intruding object from it once he found it.

Hopper yelped as her tiny teeth sank down into the skin of his thumb; he freed his finger from her grasp and couldn't help but laugh with her when she laughed overjoyed, her brown eyes sparkling with the childish joy of hurting people.

"Now, you know you can't hurt Grandpa." He told her, pointing his finger at her and acting serious for a while.

Her mouth turned down and her eyebrows lifted as she gave him a confused expression. "No?"

"No." Hopper shook his head from side to side. "It makes me sad; and you don't want to make Grandpa sad, do you?"

She shook her head from side to side, imitating him while she patted his cheeks with her chubby hands.

Hopper laughed and kissed one palm, snuggling her closer as he walked to the kitchen.

He had come to visit El since early morning; his daughter had been overjoyed when he called the previous night to share his plans with her, and had assured him he would be more than welcome.

Joyce hadn't been able to join him, and she sent many kisses for her daughter and son-in-law, as well for the tiny girl who was currently being sat on top of the counter.

"Okay, Aimee. Let's see what kind of beer your father keeps around."

He couldn't believe he became _that kind_ of grandfather. Here he was, Jim Hopper, still Chief of police of Hawkins; feared but still respected leader, joking with a one year old girl who was too busy stuffing her whole hand inside her mouth to tell him it was too early to drink.

But why was he playing babysitter? Well, Hopper wasn't too happy about being ditched for work, but El had to run to the office when an emergency patient was blasting the phone in order to get her to attend him. Hopper was proud of how professional El was, and how much she cared for her patients, but this was _**his**_ day, damn it. She had specially cancelled all appointments to spend the whole day with him.

But duty called, and that resulted in him being left alone with his granddaughter for company.

Mike was in the hospital, doing whatever the brainiac boy did to support his daughter. Hopper wasn't an idiot, but he had a tendency to drown Mike out whenever he began telling him about his job as a Biomedical Engineer. The _kid_ had more intelligence than what his brain was capable of holding. Hopper was secretly proud of him, but he wouldn't be telling him that anytime soon; he still enjoyed watching Mike squirm in his presence.

As he searched the stocked fridge for a drink that wasn't Capri Sun, he had to constantly glance back at Aimee to see if the little girl was still in one piece. His granddaughter was happily watching him, calmly sitting in the place he left her in.

He found a can of A&W cream soda and grabbed it, along with a pouch of Fruit Punch juice for the curly haired beauty sitting on the counter.

"Here you go, sweetheart." He stabbed the straw into the little hole and gave the juice to her. He watched her inspect the plastic thing while he drank the soda and frowned when she only slobbered on the straw.

"C'mon, bottoms up."

Aimee stared at him with blank eyes, and he suddenly realized she didn't know how to use a straw. "Damn it, why didn't you say so, kid?" He laughed to himself, wondering why was he asking her things he knew she wouldn't answer, _again_.

He picked her up and grabbed a bottle from the cup cabinet with one arm. He sat her in front of him and tried pouring the juice pouch into the bottle without making a mess.

"Ah, shit!" he cursed as a big squirt of juice splashed against his hand and sprayed the counter. Aimee giggled as she watched him struggle, and then she swirled a finger in the juice puddle, smearing red stains on her light pink baby pants.

"Well, that's going to be a bitch to wash off." Hopper told her indulgently as he capped the bottle and watched her make a bigger mess on herself.

A few hours later, when Aimee was gurgling, trying to swallow the phone cord while he was whining to Joyce about being ditched by his daughter, the front door opened and Eleven came in carrying two plastic bags, which Hopper presumed contained lunch.

"Hey." She smiled, a little breathless. He watched her slip off her heels by the door and disappear into the kitchen to free herself of the bags.

"Joyce, I'm gonna have to go," he told his wife on the phone while trying to hold Aimee from jumping from his arms at the sight of her mother. "El just got here."

"Is that mom?" El asked as she came back and took her daughter from his arms.

"Yeah, you want to say hi to her?" Hopper gestured at the phone and she nodded.

"Hey, mom… Yeah, I just got here… Oh, did he?" she wondered with an amused face as she watched him, and Hopper had the slight suspicion that his wife had just snitched on his whining.

He left her on the phone as he wandered towards the kitchen, his stomach grumbling with hunger at the thought of food. He inspected the containers on the counter as Eleven's laughter rang through the house. He chuckled to himself as he stole a noodle, when he heard the giggles from Aimee, who found her mother's laughter the funniest thing in the world.

A few minutes later, and a few more pieces of Chinese food stolen, El came into the kitchen.

"That woman just babbles on forever, doesn't she?" he asked her amusedly as he munched on a piece of broccoli.

"She misses me." El told him with a sad smile.

"We all miss you."

"I know." She told him while putting Aimee on the counter next to the food. "I miss you guys, too." He threw her a nostalgic smile while she slipped her pink blazer off.

"Hey!" she exclaimed suddenly. "You're going to ruin your appetite." She scolded as he kept on stealing bits of food from the bags.

"I've been eating animal crackers all morning. Sue me."

She laughed as she patted his back, and walked towards the fridge to pull a freshly bought beer from it. "Here's your gift for being a good babysitter."

He laughed and licked his fingers clean while he took the can from her outstretched hand. "Ahhh." He sighed contently after taking a big gulp from the bitter-but-refreshing beverage, while Eleven laughed against Aimee's little curls.

"Hold on a little longer, old man. We're just waiting for Mike to get here."

"So, when is he getting here?" He watched as she checked her phone.

"20 minutes ago he told me he was leaving work, so any minute now."

"Well, I don't know who the hell does he think he is, getting in between me and my foo-."

"Shhh." El shushed him with a waving hand while her eyes narrowed in concentration. Aimee watched her mother curiously, and right on cue an engine was heard on the driveway, and then a door slammed closed as a car beeped.

"Told you." El grinned at him as the front door opened and the voice of his son-in-law was heard.

"Honey, I'm home!" Mike yelled from the entrance.

"Kitchen!" El answered as Hopper rolled his eyes at the cliché greeting. "Stop." El laughed as she shoved him a little, and Hopper rolled his eyes even harder to tease her.

The tall figure that was Mike Wheeler appeared on the kitchen entrance and Hopper couldn't help but smile back at the boy (who wasn't really a boy anymore) when he grinned at him.

"Hey, Hop." Mike greeted him with a pat on the back as he rounded the counter to get to his wife.

"Hey, you." He greeted El with a kiss on the lips as an excited one year old squirmed between the couple.

"And hey, you!" Aimee squealed as Mike picked her up and threw her in the air.

"What's for lunch?" Mike asked as he single-handedly looked into the food containers. "Yuck, broccoli." He stuck his tongue out in disgust as Hopper laughed.

"Shut up." El shoved him away with her hip as she closed the lid of the Chinese food from the greedy fingers of both men. "Why don't you go change so we can have lunch?" she gestured at his scrubs.

"Yeah, I'm dying here." Hopper told him as he took a swig from his beer.

"Yes, sir." He saluted him and then threw a wink at a laughing El. He turned around and began walking out with Aimee in his arms. "Hey, baby. Did you have fun with Grandpa Hopper? What did you do today?" Mike chatted with her as he walked out of the kitchen.

Aimee's excited babbles followed them out into the living room and Hopper watched El watch them with a smile as she leaned against the kitchen counter.

"He treating you good?" Hopper questioned as his daughter's eyes swung to his.

"You know he is." El smiled in response.

From his place he could see Mike blowing raspberries on Aimee's cheeks as he walked up the stairs, and he couldn't help but smile at the warm feeling in his chest. "Yeah, I do know."

An hour and a half later, after eating and when he was on the door ready to leave and drive the 30 minutes back to Hawkins, he hugged Eleven to his chest.

Sometimes he would be alone at home, and he would enter her old bedroom to surround himself with her childhood things; his chest would tighten and his eyes fogged with the reminder that she was no longer there. Gone was his little girl who threw telepathic tantrums and who gave him grey hairs, and instead a gorgeous, successful woman had taken her place; away from him, with her own little family to take care of. She was only a few miles away, but every time he saw her, it became even harder to say goodbye again.

"You know I love you, don't you?" He muttered against her hair.

"Yes." Her voice was muffled against his chest. "And I love you, too."

He smiled and separated her from him; he ignored her watery eyes as he caught the tiny girl who threw herself at him from her father's arms.

"Say 'bye-bye' to grandpa, A." Mike said to his daughter as El discretely wiped her eyes.

"Buh-buh." The little girl said against Hopper's shoulder as he hugged her tight.

"Bye, sweetheart." With one last kiss to his granddaughter, he gave her back to Mike, patted his back while side-hugging him, and turned to El once again.

"Call me when you get home, okay?" She requested as she hugged him tightly again. "And tell Mom I love her."

"Yes, mom." He rolled his eyes fondly.

She laughed as they separated and if she saw him sniff discretely, she didn't mention it.

"Bye! Drive safe!" Mike waved from inside the house as Hopper got inside his long used Blazer.

He left the driveway of the Wheeler's house and made his way down the street; his eyes watched El's waving form from inside her window until she was no longer visible, and he sighed sadly as he said goodbye to her once more.


End file.
